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Strong Lifts 5*5
Introduction The Strong Lifts 5*5 Program (Strong Lifts 5*5 Beginner's Programn) or is a Beginner's Strength Training program developed by Mehdi based on some classic weightlifting philosophies. It is one of the best Beginner's Programs along with [[Starting Strength|'Starting Strength']]. The Program The program utilizes two different workouts (Workout A and Workout B) done alternating 3 times a week. The workout takes about 45min to 1 hour to complete meaning it will take no more than 3 hours a week to complete. It is best to start the program using nothing but an Olympic sized bar (45lbs) and add 5lbs (2.5lbs per side) per workout for linear increases every week until these linear increases become unobtainable. With the Deadlift starting with 90 lbs would be a more appropriate starting weight. So for example, Workout a would consist of doing Squats for 5 sets of 5 reps, followed by Bench Press for 5 sets of 5 reps, followed finally by Inverted Rows for 2 sets of 12 reps. It is commonly asked why only 1 set of deadlifts are preformed on Workout B. This is because although different, Squats and Deadlifts work a lot of the same muscles and when you progress to Squatting and Deadlifting large amounts of weight you should be too tired to preform 5*5 Deadlift and could risk possible injury by overtraining. As stated above Workout A and Workout B are done on alternating days 3 times a week. An ideal schedule would look like this: Week 1 Week 2 After Week 2 the cycle is repeated again. Modified Versions Although it is not recommended that any variations be made to the Beginners version of the Strong Lifts 5*5 program here are a few modifications which can be made: Pushups, Pull-Ups, Chin-Ups, and Abdominal Work are added in this variation. 3*F indicates doing 3 sets to Failure. See the page on Ab Work for more information on the subject. Another modification to the program would be to replace the traditional Barbell Back Squat with a Front Squat. The Front Squat can be started with the bar on a Power Cage or it can be done starting off the floor by Power Cleaning the bar up to your shoulders. This second method is useful when access to a Power Cage is not available. Adding Weight and Plateuas It is recommended that you add 5lbs (2.5lbs per side) to the bar every workout for each exercise. This will mean you are adding 5lbs to your Squats 3 times a week. Eventually this linear increase of weights will become impossible and you will reach a plateua. When reaching a Plateau try these 3 methods in this order: #Try Again 3 times. Focus hard on your form and take longer rests in between sets. #Deload. Take off 10% of the weight you stalled on and progress normally from there. #Hard Deload. Back off the weight by 20% and do 3*5 each week and add more weight until getting back to the stalled weight and try 5*5 again After Strong Lifts The goal of Starting Strength is to get you to be able to Squat 1.2-1.5 times your bodyweight for a 1 Rep Max. Once this goal has been achieved or there a few paths to move on to. There are 3 suggested routes: #MadCow Bill Starrs 5*5 Intermediate Program #Strong Lifts 5*5 Advanced Program #Texas Method External Links *Strong Lifts Home Page: http://stronglifts.com/ *Strong Lifts Program: http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/ *Strong Lifts FAQ: http://stronglifts.com/forum/stronglifts-5x5-faq-read-before-asking-questions-t11443.html Category:Strong Lifts Category:Beginner's Programs Category:Strength Training